To obtain better information on which to base procedures for licensing operators of large trucks, an analysis was performed of a year's sample (1973) of truck crashes (253,459 in all) reported in North Carolina. Trucks were divided into the following three groups: large trucks, including three-axle trucks and tractor-trailers; intermediate trucks, including two-axle trucks more than 24,000 Ibs Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW); and small trucks, including two axle trucks weighing 24,000 Ibs GVW or less. Larger trucks were found to be more likely to be involved in single vehicle crashes than cars or smaller trucks, and in such accidents the truck drivers are just as likely to be killed as car drivers. Large truck crashes are hardly ever related to the truck driver's use of alcohol or to other physical conditions. When a car collides with a truck, the car driver nearly always sustains a more serious injury than the truck driver, and a large proportion of such accidents involve fatalities. Truck drivers appear to encounter difficulties in getting their vehicles stopped, whether because of brake failure or insufficient braking power, and trucks in crashes are more likely than cars to be reported as having vehicle defects. Although drivers of large trucks generally are less likely to be found in violation than car drivers, the truck operator is more likely to be found in violation in multi- vehicle accidents. Generally, small trucks appear much like cars on the basis of accident report information, while the two-axle trucks over 24,000 Ibs GVW appear more like the large trucks. Tables are given for each vehicle class in relation to accident types, vehicle manoeuvres, accident characteristics, month, day, and hour of accident, light, weather, and pavement conditions, accident locations, defects, vehicle speeds, driver characteristics, seat belt usage, violations, and accident and injury severity.
Abstract